Alex Avila's two-run home run in ninth inning vaults Detroit Tigers to 4-3 win, into Central Division lead

Jhonny Peralta congratulates Detroit Tigers teammate Miguel Cabrera on Friday night after Cabrera scored on a single off the wall in right field by Victor Martinez.AP Photo

HOUSTON -- Jose Veras was trying to earn the save for the Houston Astros. Instead, Alex Avila saved the day for the Detroit Tigers.

Avila hit a two-run home run with one out in the top of the ninth inning Friday night to give the Tigers a 4-3 victory over the Astros.

With Don Kelly on first and one out, Avila crushed a 3-1 pitch from Veras to center field to erase a 3-2 deficit and give the Tigers a 4-3 lead. It was the fourth home of the season for Avila.

The Tigers appeared to be doomed to defeat after struggling to score against Astros starter Bud Norris and falling behind 3-2 in the seventh courtesy of a three-run rally by Houston. But thanks to Avila, they won for the seventh time in eight games and took over sole possession of first place in the American League Central Division.

Jhonny Peralta and Victor Martinez also knocked in runs for the Tigers.

KEY TO THE GAMEDrew Smyly entered the game in the seventh inning after the Astros had pushed three runs across against starter Doug Fister. The Astros had two on with nobody out at the time, but Smyly retired the next six batters he faced to keep the game within reach for the Tigers. He picked up the victory to improve to 2-0.

TIGERS HIGHLIGHTS-- The Tigers scratched out a run in the top of the second to take a 1-0 lead. Kelly grounded into a fielder's choice for the second out of the inning, then stole second base and scored on a single to left field by Peralta.

-- The Tigers made it 2-0 -- and almost 3-0 -- on a single by Martinez in the top of the fourth. Miguel Cabrera reached on a leadoff double off the wall in right field, then scored when Martinez hit a ball off the fence in right field for a single. Martinez believed he had hit a home run -- which would have been his first of the season -- but the play was reviewed by the umpires, who ruled it a single. The ball appeared to hit the top of the fence and then shot back onto the playing field at a strange angle.

-- Fister escaped in the fourth inning after the Astros loaded the bases with two singles and a walk -- all with two outs -- by getting Marwin Gonzalez to ground out to shortstop. Fister fell behind 3-0 in the count to Gonzalez before battling back. The Astros stranded six through four innings.

-- Jose Valverde pitched the ninth inning and earned his third save in three opportunities.

TIGERS LOWLIGHTS
-- The Tigers had runners at the corners with one out and runners on second and third with two outs in the fifth inning while leading 2-0, but Cabrera popped up to first base to end the threat.

-- An error by Omar Infante helped along an Astros rally in the seventh inning. With runners at the corners and no outs, Marwin Gonzalez hit the ball to the left of Infante, who likely only had a play at first base. But Infante misplayed the ball and it trickled into right field. A run scored -- it would have anyway -- to make it 2-1, but instead of having a runner on second with one out, the Astros ended up with runners at second and third with no outs.

-- Robbie Grossman followed with a line-drive single to tie the score at 2-2. Then Jose Altuve hit a grounder up the middle that barely eluded Fister and then hit the bag at second base. Peralta likely would have had a play at first, but when the ball hit the bag it took a funny bounce. Peralta did a good job to field the ball at all, but his throw to first was late. That gave the Astros a 3-2 lead and brought Smyly into the game with two on and nobody out.

OTHER GAME NOTES
-- Fister hit Grossman with a pitch in the third inning. It was the ninth hit batter for Fister, who hit just seven batters last season. No other pitcher in the majors had hit more than four with pitches through Thursday.

-- Astros outfielder Rick Ankiel made an excellent catch on the warning track on a line drive off the bat of Andy Dirks in the third inning.

-- Torii Hunter made a nice diving catch on a line drive by Jose Altuve for the second out of the fifth inning.

-- Fister dodged a head-high line drive up the middle off the bat of Ankiel in the bottom of the seventh inning. The ball glanced off Fister's glove on the way to center to put runners at first and third with no outs.